“You only have so much energy in your day and because he is not a natural leader I think he is putting so much into his leadership and only leaving a little bit for his batting.

“If he didn’t turn up at The Ageas Bowl next week, would England miss him as a captain? Not really. But they are missing his guaranteed runs.

“I am sure there is a hundred just around the corner but he needs to decide whether he can get that hundred as captain.“

England ended day two in London on 219-6 and trailing their opponents by 76, though their plight could have been worse if not for a second successive Lord’s century for Gary Ballance (110).

Indentations

Andrew Strauss – who, like Ballance and Jonathan Trott, reached three figures in his first two Tests at the Home of Cricket – feels the hosts underperformed with the willow on a batting-friendly track.

Nasser Hussain and Rahul Dravid discuss Gary Ballance's innings of 110 on the second day at Lord's.

And the ex-Middlesex man says Cook’s charges will now be looking nervously at the patches of rough that are beginning to develop on the wicket as they prepare to bat fourth.

“There is still a bit of green so the odd ball is moving around but you are looking at this pitch as a batsman now and thinking ‘I can score runs on this’,” said Strauss.

“The ball is coming through a bit quicker so while that makes it harder for the batsmen to react if there is a bit of deviation, it means the ball is coming onto the bat nicely.

“The indentations are not as pronounced as they were in Thursday afternoon with the heavy roller having gone on the pitch and the track is now very dry and dusty, which is unlike Lord’s.

“Lord’s doesn’t tend to turn but there is a lot of rough and that will get bigger and bigger as the game goes on and become difficult for England’s left-handers in the final innings.”

India lost the toss and have had the worst of conditions, so for the game to still be in the balance shows how well they have done.

Nasser Hussain

Twirler Ravindra Jadeja could, therefore, be India’s ace in the pack when England bat again but it was Kumar (4-46 from 23 overs, with nine maidens) who posed them most trouble in their first knock.